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VINTAGE: Phil Hill’s Winning C-Type Expected To Fetch Record At RM Monterey Auction
Written by: Vintage Motorsport Staff
Vintage Motorsport Magazine   http://www.vintagemotorsport.com
06/26/2009
Scottsdale, AZ
 
The XKC 007 was imported in August 1952 by Western distributor Charles Hornburg, who promptly hired 25-year-old Hill to race the car. (Photo: vintagemotorsport.com) ยป More Photos

The historic 1952 Jaguar C-Type driven to wins at Elkhart Lake and Torrey Pines by future world champion Phil Hill, will be offered at RM Auctions' Aug. 13-15 event in Monterey, CA. The rare car is estimated to fetch a record price over $3.5 million, according to noted marquee expert Terry Larson.

One of just 53 examples built, XKC 007 was imported in August 1952 by Western distributor Charles Hornburg, who promptly hired 25-year-old Hill to race the car in September on the 6.5-mile street circuit around Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Following the C-Type's overall win at Le Mans in '51, this was the North American racing debut for the C-Type. Hill didn't disappoint, taking the car to an overall win in the Sheldon Cup on Saturday (Jaguar's first major victory in the all-important U.S. market) and a 4th overall in the Elkhart Lake Cup race on Sunday, trailing a trio of V8-powered Cunningham’s. Hill subsequently raced the car to another overall win at Torrey Pines in December 1952.

Larson, who vintage races his own C-Type, said "Considering this car's history and provenance, it should bring a new record. C-Types are one of the best race cars ever built, as proven by two wins at Le Mans. In 1951, the winning C-Type came in 77 miles ahead of the 2nd place car, and set 3 new records: fastest lap speed (105.232 mph); 24-hour speed record (93.495 mph); and greatest distance traveled in 24 hours (2,243.886
miles)."

He added (as an admitted Jaguar fan) "regardless what the people who own those 'red cars' want to think, the fact is C-Types" dominated racing in their era. Larson noted, that as the first C-Type imported to America, to give Jaguar its first major U.S. victory "in the country that was its bread and butter, and with Phil Hill driving...opportunities to own a C-Type of this caliber rarely come up."

XKC 007 passed through nine owners over the past 57 years, and one even took it to a 157mph top speed at Bonneville. Larson owned and restored it in 1986 before Jerry and Kathy Nell added it to their collection in 1993, where it's resided since. The car also won a Jaguar Club national championship in 1994, Best Sports car at Meadowbrook 1996, and 2nd in class at Pebble Beach 1997. It was reunited with Hill at Pebble Beach 2002 for the 50th anniversary of the C-Type, as well as the 2006 Wisconsin event where Elkhart Lake's road circuit was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By Mike Silverman
Photo by Terry Larson

For more information on the 3-day RM Auction event: www.rmauctions.com or 800.211.4371

For more news and events coverage visit www.vintagemotorsport.com
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